


Tigers on a Gold Leash

by lovelyisthenight (sparkle_1)



Series: Otayuri Week 2017 [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fights, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Happy Ending, M/M, OtaYuri Week 2017, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 08:30:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9876587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparkle_1/pseuds/lovelyisthenight
Summary: Staring at him from the inside of the box is a small golden tiger's head, its mouth open in a roar. The eyes are made of tiny rubies, and it's attached to a simple gold chain.It's beautiful.And also really fucking expensive.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Otayuri Week 2017, Day 3
> 
> Prompt: Future

Yuri burrows deeper into Otabek's side, grumbling through a smile when a soft kiss is pressed into his hair.

Some cheesy movie is playing on the TV, and their empty dishes clutter up the coffee table in front of them. The dimmed lamp beside the sofa is their only source of light.

“I can't believe your coach let you come all the way to St. Petersburg in the middle of the season,” Yuri says.

Otabek holds him tighter.

“Like hell I was going to miss your birthday,” he says.

Yuri sighs, but doesn't argue.

“Did you get me a present?” he teases instead.

Instead of answering, Otabek takes his arm from around Yuri to dig into the pockets of his jacket, thrown over the armrest earlier.

Yuri's smirk falls.

“Beka, I was kidding,” he protests.

Otabek still doesn't say anything, just pulls out a small, flat box about the size of his hand, and hands it to Yuri.

Yuri's stomach drops when he spots the familiar logo on the box, nearly hidden behind the black ribbon.

“Beka…”

“Open it.”

Yuri obeys, carefully pulling off the ribbon. He swallows nervously as he lifts the lid.

 _Shit_.

He was right.

Staring at him from the inside of the box is a small golden tiger's head, its mouth open in a roar. The eyes are made of tiny rubies, and it's attached to a simple gold chain.

It's beautiful.

And also really fucking expensive.

“Beka, I _told_ you not to get this one,” he groans. “It's… this is too much. Seriously.”

“Do you like it?”

“You know I do, I've been telling you about it for months.”

Otabek smiles softly at him.

“Then it's not too much.”

Yuri tries to turn his smile into a scowl as Otabek takes the necklace from the box, and gently sweeps his hair aside so he can fasten it behind his neck.

“You're a sappy piece of shit,” he accuses weakly.

Otabek just hums and places a kiss on Yuri's cheek, chuckling when a blush spreads across Yuri's face. He presses another behind his ear.

Yuri growls and turns to catch him in a kiss.

“You're too good for me,” he complains against his lips.

Otabek brings a hand up to cup his cheek, kissing Yuri again to silence him. His thumb strokes the skin under his eye in a gentle caress.

When he pulls away, they're both panting slightly.

“Nothing is too good for you,” Otabek insists quietly.

“Beka - ”

“Nothing.”

Yuri sighs, pressing his forehead to Otabek's, and quirks his lips in a smirk.

“Happy birthday to me, then,” he whispers.

Otabek kisses him again, and again.

“Happy birthday to you.”

…

The necklace gets a lot of attention the next few days.

Mila and Victor tease him relentlessly once they find out where he got it, and Katsudon won't stop admiring it and smiling at him, all _knowingly_ or something.

And the media.

Oh, god, the media goes _crazy._

It's not like they don't know that he and Otabek are a couple. Everyone already had that freak-out _last_ year, when they were photographed holding hands in a restaurant.

But, apparently, the necklace represents a “new level of commitment,” or some bullshit.

Anyway, it's all over the gossip rags for a couple weeks, and everybody's speculating over “what this development might mean for the young couple's future.”

“It's a fucking _birthday present_ _,”_ Yuri complains over Skype. “Why the fuck does it have to _mean_ something, other than the fact that you love me, which everyone knows already?”

Otabek smiles helplessly.

“I don't know,” he admits. “I guess this is what sells nowadays.”

“Well, it's stupid,” Yuri mumbles.

“You don't have to wear it in public,” Otabek points out.

Yuri scowls.

“Fuck you, I never want to take this thing off.”

…

“Get out of my fucking apartment!”

Otabek's face goes pale when he hears the words, but Yuri can barely see through his anger and unshed tears.

“I said _get out!”_ Yuri screams again.

Otabek wastes no time in backing towards the door, fumbling for the doorknob and hastily running out.

Yuri collapses onto his knees when the door slams shut. The tears fall freely now, and he slams his fist on the floor, over and over again. He's so _mad,_ he can't _believe_ him...

He looks down, and spots the necklace dangling above his chest.

Without a second thought, he reaches up and yanks it from his neck, throwing it across the room. A broken piece of the fastener lands beside him, glittering mockingly at him.

Yuri falls to the floor, pressing his cheek into the carpet, and cries.

He cries for a long time. He screams, and sobs, and just when he thinks he's done, he'll start back up again.

He doesn't even remember what they were fighting about. All he knows is he told Beka to leave, and he broke his necklace, and Beka left, and he might not come back, oh, _god…_

The door opens with a squeak, and Yuri turns a tear-stained face up to see Beka walk through, turning to close the door quietly.

He starts when he sees Yuri, and walks over to where he lies on the floor, kneeling next to him.

Yuri can't help the fresh wave of tears pouring over his cheeks.

“I'm - I'm sorry,” he sobs. “I'm sorry, I broke it, I love you, I'm sorry…”

“Oh, Yura,” Beka says.

Soft fingers wipe the tears from his face, and strong arms lift him off the floor. Yuri clings to him as Beka carries him to the bedroom.

“I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry,” he whimpers into Beka’s neck.

“Shh, it's alright.”

“I - I broke it, I'm sorry…”

Otabek lays him on the bed, and leans down to look at him with concerned eyes.

“Broke what, love?”

Yuri sniffles.

“The… the necklace.”

Otabek sighs, pressing his mouth to Yuri's forehead.

“It's okay,” he whispers into his skin. “It's okay, we can fix it.”

“But - but I broke it…”

“It's okay, we'll fix it.”

Yuri tugs at Otabek's jacket until he crawls onto the bed with him. He turns and buries his face in Otabek's chest, relaxing slightly when warm hands come up behind him to rub his back.

They lie there until morning, wrapped around each other. They don't sleep, and they don't talk.

But they'll be okay.

...

The necklace becomes a part of him. Yuri wears it constantly, and is almost never seen without it. People have long stopped commenting on it whenever he goes out.

Yuri never forgets, though. Years later, he still stares at it in awe whenever he has to take it off. His heart still skips a beat when he remembers his seventeenth birthday, how Otabek had gently placed it on him, and kissed him breathless. His eyes burn when he recalls how he had once broken it out of anger, but Otabek had been the one to pay for its repair.

Every birthday since, Otabek respects his wishes, and gets him something small, but meaningful. He can never quite match the necklace, but it's okay. Yuri never really deserved it in the first place.

Otabek still insists that nothing is too good for him, but Yuri is steadfast. He doesn't need expensive things, or grand gestures, to know that Otabek loves him.

One golden tiger necklace is enough.

  


**Author's Note:**

> I really don't know how this happened. I swear. I made myself cry with this one, ok. Pls don't kill me.


End file.
